Col. Paul Whitin , (1767–1831) was an American blacksmith and pioneering industrialist who in 1826 in Northbridge, Massachusetts established P Whitin and Sons, a new cotton mill with his sons. This company would grow and acquire other mills in the area. In 1831 his son John C Whitin obtained a patent for a mechanized Cotton Picker. Textile machinery would become a larger percentage of their business over time. would later become the largest maker of specialty textile machinery in the world.
24-624: Paul was born in 1767 in Roxbury, MA as Paul Whiting to Nathaniel and Sarah (Draper) Whiting . He began his career as an apprentice in Colonel James Fletcher's forge in South Northbridge. In 1793, he married Fletcher's daughter, Elizabeth (Betsey) Fletcher at which time he changed his name by dropping the “g”. They would have eight children, including five sons. Whitin and four of his sons and their descendants would become very influential in
48-684: A new Italian-styled home, along with his brother in 1856. In 1864, Betsy Whitin decided to split the family businesses among the four sons. Paul Jr. got the Rockdale and Riverdale Mills. Charles P. received the 1845 Whitinsville Cotton Mill and the 1826 brick mill. James F. got the Crown and Eagle Mill of North Uxbridge, and the land near the Whitin Railroad Depot, where he built in 1866, the Linwood Cotton Mill with his brother Charles. However, it
72-541: A new cotton picker machine that outperformed others in the previous mills. This was to be first of other successive inventions that would establish the Whitin Machine Works as a great textile machinery company. In 1847, the Whitins built "The Shop," which consisted of a new textile production area that was four times larger than the brick mill. It contained machine shops, foundries, and other specialized structures. As
96-619: A new, stone textile factory, largely of granite known as the Whitinsville Cotton Mill, which gave the family business 7,500 more spindles. The Whitinsville Cotton Mill would later be used as a testing facility for new equipment developed by the Whitin Machine Works, across the street. This is now called the restored Cotton Mill Apartments, in Whitinsville . In 1831, Whitin's third son John Crane Whitin designed and had patented
120-550: A report recommended the region for National Park status. In 2014, the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park was established. The river is named after William Blackstone (original spelling William Blaxton ) who arrived in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1623, and became the first European settler of present-day Boston in 1625. He relocated again, to Rhode Island in 1635 and built his home on
144-615: Is a tributary of the Blackstone River . The river rises from its headwaters in Sutton and Douglas at Manchaug Pond and flows east in a meandering path through a series of ponds (Manchaug, Stevens, Gilboa, Lackey, Whitins, just west of Whitinsville ), and joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge . The river was named for a hunter, named Mumford, at Mendon , who drowned in this river in
168-523: The packet boat Lady Carrington arrived in Worcester, the first vessel to make the trip. The canal brought immediate prosperity to Worcester and the Valley; farmers' profits increased and mills were built, especially in Worcester. Using water to transport goods was a great improvement over the rough roads of the era. At the time of its construction, it represented the best available transportation technology. It
192-517: The 17th century. This occurred before the towns through which this river flows were formed from Mendon. These towns include Douglas, Sutton, Northbridge , and Uxbridge. Mendon was first settled in 1660. This river was a source of water power for a number of mills and factories in America's earliest industrialization, in the historic Blackstone Valley . The Whitin Machine Works grew up at Whitinsville on
216-769: The Blackstone Valley from Worcester to Providence, Rhode Island . The corridor follows the course of the Industrial Revolution in America from its origin at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island as it first spread north along the valley to Worcester, Massachusetts , and then to the rest of the nation. The region was designated a National Heritage Corridor by Congress in November 1986, composing 25 towns and cities throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island . In 2011,
240-495: The Blackstone Valley. Both lines provide direct service to Boston's South Station . Providence station is also served by Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor , providing service to New York City and beyond. At the 2010 United States Census , the population of the Blackstone Valley was 848,725. Mumford River The Mumford River is an 18.3-mile-long (29.5 km) river in south-central Massachusetts . It
264-566: The Northbridge Cotton Manufacturing Company. This wood-framed spinning mill, two and one-half stories high had 200 spindles and was only the third cotton mill in the Blackstone Valley at the time. In 1815, Whitin became a partner with Colonel Fletcher, Betsey's father, and his two brothers-in-law, Samuel and Ezra Fletcher, under the firm name of Whitin and Fletcher. Then they built a second mill with 300 spindles on
SECTION 10
#1733094475383288-403: The canal came from Providence, where a merchant community wished to profit from trade with the farming country of the Blackstone Valley and Worcester County. The people of Worcester and the Blackstone Valley, eager for transport that would enable them to get better prices for their produce, welcomed the plan. However, since the trade of central Massachusetts was at that time going overland through
312-557: The development of the textile industry in the Blackstone Valley area during the 19th Century, establishing or acquiring several mills throughout the Blackstone Valley area, including ones at Uxbridge, Linwood, Riverdale and Rockdale. It was the Whitin Machine Works however, which would have the greatest impact on the area and the textile industry. In 1835, the village of South Northbridge became known as Whitinsville in his honor. In 1809, Whitin and his father-in-law James Fletcher and others from Northbridge and Leicester , established
336-757: The doors were closed. The huge plant is now occupied by a variety of smaller businesses along both sides of the Mumford River in Whitinsville . Blackstone Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island . It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and National Historical Park . The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor follows
360-617: The family textile businesses expanded, so did the village of Whitinsville . More housing was provided by the company for new workers on North Main St. and on other side streets as Irish workers poured into the labor pool that same year (1847). Just seven years prior, John C. Whitin had developed the first of stately mansions, which had occupied land where the Whitin Gymnasium now stands. During this time also, Paul Whitin Jr. had married Sarah Chapin and built
384-439: The first successful water powered cotton mill in America, Slater Mill , at Pawtucket Falls . This mill was powered by the waters of the Blackstone River. Many other mills appeared along the Blackstone River over time making it an important part of American industry. The industrialization also led to the river being identified by the end of the 20th century as the primary source of Narragansett Bay pollution. The initiative for
408-623: The oldest surviving, unaltered textile mill remaining in Massachusetts . Colonel Fletcher's 1772 Blacksmith Forge is also still standing, next to the Brick Mill, on the west bank of the Mumford River. Later on, Whitin's two other younger sons, Charles P. and James F. later also entered into the family-run business. Whitin died in 1831. Years later, with the cotton business on a solid basis and escalating in 1845, Betsey Whitin and her sons built
432-455: The opposite side of the Mumford River . Paul Whitin then bought out the Fletcher shares in 1826 and formed a new partnership with his two sons, Paul Jr. and John Crane Whitin. The new company was called Paul Whitin and Sons . Also in 1826, a new brick mill was constructed, having 2000 spindles, which still stands today at Whitinsville , having been recently restored. The 1826 brick mill is perhaps
456-459: The parallel Providence and Worcester Railroad began operation, and the canal closed in 1848. The canal is listed in the National Register of Historic Places . The Blackstone Valley offers multiple recreation areas for visitors to take advantage of the sights. These sites are: Multiple modes of transportation are available that serve the Blackstone Valley. Two major roads travel through
480-627: The port of Boston, Massachusetts commercial interests succeeded in stalling the project for several years. Finally, in 1823, the Blackstone Canal Company was organized through an act of the Massachusetts legislature, with a Rhode Island company soon following. The canal's construction may have been motivated by competition among rival industrialists to curtail " water rights ". Construction began in 1825 and cost $ 750,000 (twice its initial estimate). The canal opened on October 7, 1828, when
504-549: The region. Route 122 in Massachusetts is known as the Blackstone Canal Heritage Highway. The road travels through many of the region's mill villages . The other major road is Route 146 in Massachusetts and Rhode Island . Upgrades on the Massachusetts side have seen major economic benefits throughout the towns. Two MBTA Commuter Rail lines, the Worcester and Providence Lines have stations located within
SECTION 20
#1733094475383528-677: The river, in what would become Cumberland . With the Providence River , the Blackstone was the northeastern border of Dutch claims for New Netherland from Adriaen Block 's charting of Narragansett Bay in 1614 through the Hartford Treaty of 1650. The original Native American name for the river was the "Kittacuck", which meant "the great tidal river". The "Kittacuck", or Blackstone, was plentiful with salmon and lamprey in pre-colonial and colonial times. In 1790, Samuel Slater opened
552-541: Was John C. who got The Machine Shops of 1847 (The Shop) proper, which had just been expanded along North Main Street. The Whitin family continued to hold the Whitin Machine Works privately until 1946. By 1948, the company was operating at peak capacity, employing 5,615 men and women. However, the business began a decline over then next two decades. In 1966, Whitin Machine Works was sold to White Consolidated Industries. The plant would struggle along for another decade, when in 1976
576-441: Was a two-day trip for the canal boats from Worcester to Providence and another two-day trip to return to Worcester. The overnight stopping point was in Uxbridge . Boston merchants moved to recapture the trade moving down the canal to Providence, opening a rail line to Worcester in 1835. (Boston merchants opened three railroads in 1835, one to Lowell, one to Worcester, and one to Providence, RI. These were very new technology.) In 1847
#382617